Women’s Basketball Downs Rhode Island 60-50

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Anna DeWolfe (above) led Fordham in scoring in Wednesday's win over Rhode Island. (Courtesy of Fordham Athletics)

Jimmy Sullivan, Sports Editor

Fordham Women’s Basketball took home its second straight victory on Wednesday afternoon, defeating Rhode Island 60-50 in front of a raucous crowd at the Rose Hill Gym.

The gym was packed for Wednesday’s 11 a.m. start as the game was designated as an annual “Kids Day” in the Bronx, with youngsters from local schools filling the Rose Hill Gym. The kids provided an electric environment for the late-morning tip-off, even if they occasionally cheered at the wrong times.

Fordham fed off that energy to build an early lead it would never relinquish.

In Wednesday’s battle of the Rams, Fordham jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter thanks to some excellent defense. Stephanie Gaitley’s team held Rhode Island to just six first-quarter points and just 3-13 shooting from the field. Fordham freshman Anna DeWolfe scored seven straight points over a three-minute span in the first quarter to help Fordham build the lead; DeWolfe led Fordham with 18 points at the game’s conclusion.

Fordham built out the lead even further in the second quarter. After Rhode Island pulled the deficit within five points with 7:30 left in the first half, Fordham closed the second quarter on a 17-5 run to take a 34-17 lead into the half. The home Rams did this behind DeWolfe’s scoring — 10 points in the first half — and continued stingy defense.

Rhode Island attempted a comeback in the second half. Behind senior center Nicole Jorgensen — who dropped a career-high 35 points on Fordham in her last game at the Rose Hill Gym two years ago — led Rhode Island back, finishing the game with 23 points and 11 rebounds. The visitors had the game within nine points after Jorgensen’s jumper with 7:19 to play, but Rhode Island would get no closer. Fordham responded with a 6-0 run fueled by DeWolfe and junior Bre Cavanaugh, who started out slow but finished with 17 points to nearly match her season average. Fordham stayed ahead and coasted to a 60-50 victory that ended in a tidy hour and 40 minutes — just in time for the attending fans to make it back to school for the end of the day.

With the win, Fordham is now 14-8 overall and 6-3 in Atlantic 10 play. The Rams will get a good test on Saturday as they travel to Amherst, Massachusetts to take on Massachusetts University, which currently sits at 6-4 but is coming off a confounding 63-47 loss to Atlantic 10 cellar dweller George Mason, at 1 p.m on Saturday. After Saturday, the Rams will get a rematch with Davidson, who is currently tied with Fordham for third in the conference standings. Davidson beat Fordham 74-62 in North Carolina back on Jan. 8.